OCT: The Calling
by Dark demon619
Summary: Why couldn't things ever be normal for Robert? Seriously? But of course, one incident with a hollow and he somehow finds himself trapped on a strange space station. Without a way home or any idea what is truly going on here, can this simply Third-Seat make it out of the mysterious Station S-6-S? Will he survive? Or will he fall? Fall within the darkness in the station, and himself?
1. The Calling

Bleach and all characters mentioned besides mine DO NOT belong to me. Trust me, if they did, you would know.

So, welcome! This is new.

In case you don't know, this is my entry to the OCT (Original Character Tournament) that is being held by Rapidfyrez, called **The Calling**. To my knowledge, this is perhaps the first one of these that has been done here at . So when I found out about it, I wondered...why not? Of course, this will NOT be a standard Bleach story, or any type of story really. It will be focusing on my OC along with several others.

Speaking of OC, more info about him can be found on my Profile page.

But with that said, lets see how my OC got into this mess, shall we?

* * *

**_Chapter 0: The Calling._**

* * *

"Sometimes, this job is just not worth it…"

A stack of paperwork in hand, Robert groaned in annoyance at what he saw in front of him. All he wanted to do was get his work done for the day, which for the moment meant finishing off the annoyingly large amount of paperwork he was holding. It was a standard thing in the Tenth Division of the Gotei Thirteen, their division was infamous for getting the short end of the stick in terms of paperwork.

The Gotei Thirteen were an organization built to protect the world of the living, to defend the human race from the darker aspects of the afterlife. To fight creatures born from all the dark aspects of death, and to release souls of those who are in torment.

But upon joining the Thirteen Court Guard Squads, Robert was quickly informed of the other…duties he would be required to do complete if necessary. Like numerous amounts of paperwork for example, which had become Robert's most…disliked part of job.

That wasn't why Robert Nazo was annoyed however. Hell, most of his paperwork was finished. All he had to do was get the stack cleared by the Captain and he would be done. It was the reason why he was standing in front of his Captain's office with said paperwork.

But such a thing was also the reason behind his annoyance. For you see, Robert wasn't able to enter his Captain's office at that time. And why is that?

It was frozen, frozen shut with a layer of ice.

Again, this wasn't the first time such a thing had happened. Not even close. With a Captain like Toshiro Hitsugaya, the most powerful ice user in all of the Soul Society…some hazards come with the deal.

Such as, having things in the division getting frozen when the Captain was irritated.

It was a common occurrence in the Tenth, but since Robert was nearly done with his work…it wasn't something he wanted to deal with for the moment.

"So, what happened this time?" he sighed, asking another member of the division he had stopped while waiting.

Looking at the door and back to his coworker, the shinigami let out a sigh, "The lieutenant spilled nail polish all over the Captain's desk, ruining his paperwork."

'_I know that feeling…'_ Robert muttered before letting out a sigh, "Well, do you know where they went? I have something to show the Captain."

Pointing at his own paperwork, the shinigami gave the Third Seat a sorrowful look, "Sorry sir, but the Captain is personally escorting the lieutenant to somewhere she can get the materials necessary to clean up her mess, so it's unknown when they will return."

When you have perhaps the laziest lieutenant in the Gotei 13 saves for the Second Division, it wasn't uncommon for their Captain to want to make sure she actually did something he ordered her to do. It wasn't uncommon for Lieutenant Matsumoto to take things at her leaser.

Robert just wished they saved this for AFTER he got his paperwork all nice and finished.

"Alright, thanks." He sighed, pinching the tip of his nose.

Watching the other shinigami salute him (god he hated that) before walking off, Robert was stuck there with a new problem. Now he had to WAIT for his Captain to get back, and with Matsumoto dragging him all across the Soul Society…it was nearly impossible to know for sure when that was going to happen.

Just yet another hazard one would have to deal with in this line of work.

Letting out a huff, Robert sighed to himself before making a long and annoying trip back to his office. There he would deposit his paperwork and…find something to do until his Captain returned.

Still, that led to a rather…big problem. What could he do until then?

"…" Robert thought about it for a moment¸ his sandals making barely any sound as he strolled through his division's halls.

"Maybe theres a mission I could do in the meanwhile…"

Nothing huge or anything, and nothing that would take him to the world of the living of course. But Robert was okay at least something that could kill some time until the Captain returned from whatever antics that the lieutenant got them in the middle of.

And really, what's the worst that could happen?

**-SOULS-**

"Okay..." Robert mumbled to himself, "Lets see here..."

After briefly stopping to seeing if he could find his Captain at any other part of his division, Robert eventually followed through on his idea. A small, tiny mission that could kill some time until his Captain returned. Glanced down at the paper in his hands, Robert silently read it.

The mission he had received didn't sound too bad, it was actually just a bit of a standard one if that.

* * *

-_There has been reports of a hollow attack in the_ **South**_ section of the_ **Rukongai**, _district Seventy-Eight:_ **Inuzuri **

**Status:**  
_-At least 17 residents have been confirmed deceased by this point, along with 2 unseated members of the Tenth Division. Recommend caution be used when confronting target._

**Description of Target:**  
_-Fifteen Feet Tall, Large armor covering arms and back. Torso has been recommended as a weak point. Abilities include limited use of high speed movement and use of Cero technique has been confirmed as well. Hollow can be recognized by a large scar on the front of its mask, given to the target in a previous encounter._

**Mission details:**  
_-Eliminate Hollow_  
_-Secure Civilians_  
_-Report back to Division once other objectives have been fulfilled._

* * *

"Doesn't seem so bad..." he mumbled.

Hollow attacks in the Rukongai weren't that common since most of hollows weren't that stupid. Who in their right mind would seriously attack so close to where the same people who hunt them reside? Such a thing sounded like a death trap to most. But of course, some hollows weren't that intelligent. In fact, some hollows were basically just monsters. Mindless creatures who simply wanted to kill and feed, to fill the aching pain in their hearts.

That was why they were there of course, its why the Gotei Thirteen had been formed. To hunt these creatures and protect others from the.

"Hopefully it hasn't gotten too far from the time this report was made..." Robert mumbled, kicking off from yet another building.

The report he had been given wasn't that old, so Robert hoped that the hollow was still in the same general area as before. He wasn't in the mood to go hunting for the creature and really, the report he would be forced to make after the mission would just get even worse as a result.

Robert scoffed, "And really, knowing my luck. Any additional damages will get blamed on me..."

The Third Seat had a habit of having fairly bad luck. The situation he was in was already a testament to that. If his luck was any worse, Robert could just imagine the crap he would be forced through.

Such thoughts made the shinigami shiver, "Like training with Captain Zaraki..."

The very idea of training with the Eleventh Division's Captain made Robert tense in fear. That man was absolutely insane and would likely kill the poor bastard by accident! Robert was just glad that he wasn't stuck in that division or he might have even more scars than he had already. And he had quite a number to begin with.

After several more minutes of rooftop running, Robert let out a sigh as he finally reached the location where the hollow had been seen last.

It wasn't in the best condition.

Upon arriving, Robert gazed at the destroyed street with a cold feeling in his stomach. Buildings were smashed, entire walls and roofs had been caved in by some unknown. The streets were filled with massive holes, likely caused by the hollow's footsteps. And the people who lived there...their bodies had been left their to rot, blood staining the dirt road red. Some of them looked as if they had been simply beaten to death while others...

...well, there wasn't much left of them to be able to tell.

It looked like a typhoon had been through the area and left no one alive. But in truth, a typhoon would have been more merciful than the creature who truly destroyed the lives of everything that once lived here.

Robert's hands tightened in rage, one of his fists reaching for the hilt of his Zanpakuto.

Killing hollows might have been a shinigami's job, but that didn't mean that they liked to witness the destruction their prey normally left in their wake. The destruction, the death, all of it made Robert sick to his stomach. But such a sickness did not last long. A rage, burning hot like the devil's fire exploded forth and filled him with determination. Determination to make the creature who had caused this destruction pay for what its done.

He might have been overreacting just a tad, but Robert did not care. Not in the slightest.

"Now," he growled, "Where is that piece of shit..."

Closing his eyes, Robert spread out his senses, searching for the monster who did the horrid dead. If it was close enough, he was sure that he could sense the hollow's spiritual energy. After all, the blasted stuff was everywhere at the moment. The streets, the buildings, the bodies. It was covering everything. So finding its source should have been easy to find if he could just...

The shinigami's eyes shot open, "There!"

The hollow was close, he could feel it. The monster might have been fast in the report he had been given, but it was clearly not interested in leaving the local area anytime soon. Hell, it was likely searching around for more people to devour. The horrible beast.

"Alright then," Robert gripped his Zanpakuto tightly and crouched slightly, "Lets do this..."

Concentrating for a few seconds, Robert suddenly vanished in a sudden flash. to the naked eye, it might have appeared that the man had vanished into thin air. But in reality, the shinigami had kicked off of the roof with a speed that would have seemed inhuman to most.

In the Acadamy that helped spirits train to become true shinigami, there were several techniques taught to them. These were a common yet vastly important part of a shinigami's skill set, many of which would help define their carrier as a shinigami. One of such skills was Hohō, a high speed technique that allowed shinigami to move over vast distances while using the least amount of steps possible. Some practitioners of this skill were able to move so fast that it seemed as if they were a flash in the distance, nothing more.

And while Robert was no master of this skill, he was quite good at it. As such, the shinigami quickly flew though the air at a insane speed. Several rooftops that would have taken Robert minutes to pass normally were bypassed in a instant.**  
**

His speed might have seemed antiquate to most shinigami, but its all Robert needed at the moment. He was in a hurry, but not to the point of pushing himself too hard. After all, he needed his strength to take that hollow out before it had a chance to kill anyone else.

In a few moments too, that objective would come into view for him.

Sounds were the first thing that told Robert that he was getting close. Several sounds actually. The sounds of something stomping around, the sounds of buildings getting smashed, the sounds of people screaming, and that roar...a defining roar, something that sounded so inhuman. It was more fitting of a beast, a monster.

A hollow.

Finally coming to a stop upon a nearby rooftop, Robert spotted the creature in question. It was similar to the description the report had given him...but much more grim than a mere report could describe.

The beast was massive, just as the report had told him. It was so huge that it towered over everyone around it. The arms were even the largest part of the hollow, being so huge that it had to stand on its forearms like a massive ape. Speaking of which, those gigantic arms were quite the sight. They tore through the nearby buildings like they were made out of paper, snagging anyone it could its disgusting fingers on.

Anyone unfortunate enough to be grabbed by the beast were brought up to its , Robert saw the hollow's signature feature. The mask. It was grotesque and covered the beast's entire head while being as white as bleach. With a massive set of razor sharp teeth filling its mouth, the hollow roared into the air as it grabbed another victim.

"AHH!" an unfortunate woman screamed for her life, having become the hollow's next prey despite her attempts to flee. But as she was brought up to the monster's mouth, the woman knew she was about to die. Just as the many others had died as well. Devoured by a massive monster. Eaten alive...in one of the worst possible ways she could imagine.

Even its breath was insinuating. But as the woman thought the last thing she would see in her life was the inside of the hollow's mouth...

**-SLICE!-**

...she suddenly felt a weightlessness overcome her.

Looking down, the woman gasped when she saw the hollow's hand suddenly detach from its arm. It had been cut off, leaving a bloody gap in between the two chunks of flesh. The hollow screamed in pain upon discovering this while the woman slowly fell back to the ground. And when she landed, the woman noticed someone standing right in front of her.

It was a shinigami, holding a bloody Zanpakuto and glaring up at the wounded hollow.

Robert glared at the massive hollow, mentally counting all the corpses he had seen while he'd been searching for the creature, "So, you've been a bit busy? Haven't you?"

The hollow didn't respond with any words. It merely roared, glaring down at its attacker with rage filling its eyes. Those sickly yellow eyes, Robert could see all the rage, hate, and animalistic instincts that made up the hollow's mind with just one glance. It disgusted him.

Gripping his sword in one hand, Robert gritted his teeth, "So, you mad about that paper cut?"

"Then come on, lets see how much more you can take!" he growled, "You bastard!"

Roaring, the hollow reacted in kind. Using its other arm, it lashed out at the shinigami and tried to crush him without delay. But despite that, the hollow's attempt only connected with the ground below it, creating a giant crater in the dirt. Due to the lack of a squishing sound, the spiritual monster looked confusing at its own hand.

In the meanwhile though, Robert had reappeared, having used his speed to evade it and reappear right behind the hollow.

Swinging his blade back, the Third Seat of the Tenth division slashed down on what should have been the Hollow's spine. But much to his misfortune, Robert had forgotten about the report he had been given. The same report that had mentioned the armor that covered the hollow's back. And while it wasn't armor exactly, it was still a very thick layer of bone.

Due to this, his slash just barely cut through the covering and drew only a small amount of blood. Even so however, the wound was enough to draw the hollow's attention. Thus, the massive creature swung its only good arm around, backhanding Robert into a nearby building.

The building collapsed in a huff, falling down all around the shinigami. But despite that, the hollow wasn't finished. It let out a roar and turned its gaze on the ruined building. During said roar, a small red light could be seen emerging from inside the creature's mouth. It was gathering energy, preparing to unleash a devastating attack on its downed foe.

A Cero.

Before it could unleash such an attack however, the debris from the building exploded out. Something shot out of the remains of the structure and was heading directly towards the hollow's legs. Robert had kicked out of the broken chunks of wood and returned to the fight post haste.

The beast noticed this and followed it the best it could. The hollow even unleashed its attack once it thought it had Robert in its line of sight. A red beam exploded out of the hollow's maw, exploding into the ground like a blast from heaven.

Despite this power however, Robert managed to be just fast enough to avoid it. The hollow's reaction time was slow, meaning that it couldn't keep up with Robert's pace. This would come to bite the hollow quite badly unfortunately. Upon reaching his destination, Robert delivered two severe slashes to the lower part of the beast's legs.

Growling in pain, the hollow let loose a cry as it began to collapse slightly. It had to relieve some of the pressure from its wounded limbs due to the massive weight they had to support. But this was what Robert was looking for.

For the moment the hollow's torso came closer to the ground, the shinigami let loose a angered cry and shot upwards. As he did so, Robert also started to drag his sword up against the beast's torso. And unlike the hollow's back, the beast's chest was completely unprotected by any sort of armor.

The reaction was sudden and extremely painful, earning a painful roar as a result. Loads of blood gushed from the hollow as its chest was split open. Robert continued slice the hollow open like a turkey, only stopping once he reached the beast's neck. It tried to grab at him again, but Robert merely backhanded the beast with his sword, cutting off numerous fingers with one slice.

But as Robert raised his blade up to deliver the final blow, the hollow threw a wrench in his plan.

The seated officer was about to take the hollow's head, aiming to end the creature as quickly as possible. But just as his sword was about to connect, the beast vanished with a booming sound echoing seconds later.

"Wha..." he muttered, "Where did it..."

Moments later, Robert's head shot upward when he heard the sound of something smashing into the ground. Looking back at the source of this, Robert cursed when he saw the Hollow a good distance away. It might have been a monster but even a hollow knew when to retreat from a fight it couldn't win. The beast was trying to make a break for it.

Robert clenched his teeth, "Oh, No you don't!"

Twisting himself around, the enraged shinigami quickly took off after the hollow. A chase quickly insured, with Robert chasing after the wounded hollow like a hunter after his prey. Luckily though, the beast was leaving quite a trail behind despite its speed. Robert had no trouble finding the beast even while it tried to vanished from sight.

Eventually, Robert stumbled upon the hollow quite a distance from where he had first found the monster. The masked beast had attempted to hide in a less urban part of the Rukongai, hoping to disappear into a nearby forest. But due to its size, Robert quickly stumbled onto the monster right at the edge of the tree line.

So when Robert landed, the hollow quickly settled for drastic measures.

Raising its remaining fist into the air, the hollow seemingly punched nothing. But instead of just swinging through the air, the hollow's fist seemingly hit something despite nothing being there. Then following that, the hollow grabbed onto something and 'ripped' a hole in the air. Whatever the hollow tore into, it created a massive tear that lead into what appeared to be a black void.

It was a Garganta, a hole in the world that hollows used to travel to and back from their home, the spiritual realm of Hueco Mundo.

The hollow was trying to escape back to its home turf, something that Robert was not about to let happen.

Quickly sheathing his sword, Robert began to focus as much energy as he could into his sheath. It took merely a few seconds, just for the hollow to rip the Garganta open large enough for the beast to fit through. But once he was finished, Robert glared over at the monster and vanished once again with a burst of speed.

But instead of simple reappearing near the hollow so he could finish it off, Robert appeared just a few meters in front of the beast. His back was to the giant, which had appeared frozen for some odd reason. The strangest part of this however, was the fact that Robert's sword had already been drawn and he was simply re-sheathing the blade yet again despite the creature that was standing behind it.

"Judgement..." he whispered, a content look on the shinigami's face, "...**cut**."

With a audible 'click', Robert completely sheathed his sword and the damaged he had done became visible.

The hollow suddenly split open, a massive cut having appeared down the beast's entire body. It was massive, spanning from where its legs met to its head. And the cut had been so extensive that the hollow simply...split in half.

Robert had sliced the creature so quickly, that it had appeared that he hadn't ever cut it to begin with.

Sighing once he heard the two parts of the hollow slam into the ground, Robert turned around just in time to witness the creature dissolve into spirit particles. It was one good thing about fighting hollows, they didn't leave a body behind to clean up.

"Alright." he muttered, "Now I just need to go see if those people need some help, maybe call the Fourth Division if they need any hel-"

Before he manged to finish however, Robert felt as sudden disturbance behind him. Looking back, the shinigami noticed the Garganta...which was still there for some reason. Despite the hollow that created being dead, the portal was still open. It was odd, but nothing too alarming.

But what was alarming was the...sudden pull Robert felt from the portal. Gargantas were simply that, portals. They didn't draw someone into them and they shouldn't last long after the one who had created them were either dead or not supplying energy to them anymore. And yet, this one was doing both.

Its pull was strong too. So much so that Robert could actually see his clothes getting pulled toward the dark void. It wasn't right, and Robert didn't want to have anything to do with it. Despite that though, when Robert tried to turn away and leave the portal behind...it grew worse. Much worse.

"Damn..." Robert cursed, feeling as if arms had reached out and grabbed onto him. They were pulling him in, and despite his attempts, Robert was not making any head way in that department.

Hell, he was actually started to feel himself being pulled closer into the black void!

"No," he cursed again, "No, no, no!"

Stomping and clawing at the ground in front of him, Robert tired everything to free himself from the void's pull. He had no idea what the hell was going on, and he had a feeling that he didn't want to. But despite all his attempts, nothing was working and he was being slowly dragged closer and closer to the blackness sitting behind him.

But a sudden, accidental loss of his footing was all it took for Robert to lose this battle.

Smacking face first into the ground, Robert tried to desperately to grab onto something in one final attempt to keep himself tethered to where he was. But it wasn't enough and before he knew it, Robert was pulled back into the darkness while the Garganta closed right behind him.

**-SOULS-**

The first thing Robert felt when he arrived was a sudden brightness.

Gargantas were a pathway into the void between worlds, so it held nothing but darkness with them. Due to such, when Robert finally emerged from the blackness, he was blinded by the several bright lights that surrounded him.

The next thing he felt? The feeling of slamming head-first into something hard and metallic. Maybe a crate or something. Whatever it was, Robert had trouble determining that due to how it felt like his head was spinning.

Due to how strange the trip through the Garganta had been (it was like flying through a void randomly, much different than what the trip should have been), Robert was more than a bit disoriented. And hell, the new headache he was feeling only made that sensation worse.

Several minutes past before the shinigami could think straight, and even then he was still rather confused. Where was he? What had been up with that Garganta, and where had he ended up? Because for some reason, Robert had a feeling that he wasn't in Hueco Mondo at the moment.

Shaking his head, Robert decided to get things straight before he freaked out about that little detail. So before doing anything, he checked himself and made sure everything was there. And much to his relief, everyhing was. His Zanpakuto, along with the rest of his limbs were all still where he had left them. Nothing was missing or out of place.

"Well, thats good." he sighed, "Worried there for a sec..."

The words died in his throat.

After looking over himself, Robert finally took a glance at his surroundings. It wasn't Hueco Mundo, that was for sure.

Somehow, the shinigami had ended up in what appeared to be a massive metal corridor. hugely advanced for anything Robert had ever seen before. Sure, it looked like it was in disrepair, but it was still far beyond anything Robert knew of. Nothing in the Soul Society or even Hueco Mundo could compare to this, especially the latter.

Both those worlds were far less invested in technological advancement...

Well..., except one thing at least...

"Akon!" Robert looked toward the ceiling in a rage, "If this is one of your division's experiments, I'm going to punch your lights out!"

No one else but the egghead mad scientist of the 12 division would have this kind of tech! They were the division that specialized in technology and advancements. And who else would seriously mess around with someone like this!? Captain Mayuri Kurotsuchi was the type to mess around with people in the name of his twisted experiments. Maybe the hollow Robert had killed was part of such a experiment or something too! But whatever the case was, Robert was having none of it.

He was in no mood to be a lab rat for one of Mayuri's twisted experiments, especially with the low survival rate in such tests. And that doesn't even begin to cover what happens to the poor individuals that actually manage to survive.

But there was no response. All Robert could hear was the echoing of his own voice through the metal corridor.

Nothing else.

"Aw...shit." he mumbled. This did not sound good.

If Mayuri wasn't the cause of this, then what was? Robert had no idea and for the moment...he was a bit worried about it. He was in a unknown location, completely separated from his division, and...had no idea why he had been brought here in the first place!

In fact, the only clue Robert could see about his present location was a old worn out sign on one of the walls. It was old and fading, but the shinigami could still make out the words quite well.

Station S-6-S.

The words made no sense to Robert. A station? He was on a station? What kind of station? Why was he here? How had he got there? All he knew as that a Garganta had dumped him there, other than that though? Robert was clueless.

But as he took a step forward, Robert heard a sudden crinkle underneath his sandal. Looking down, Robert noticed that he head stepped on something. Upon moving his foot, Robert frowned. It was a paper, a crumpled little piece of paper. It looked old and tired, but the writing on it was far too fancy for the paper he had stepped on.

Reaching down, the shinigami raised a brow as he took the paper in his hand and silently read it.

* * *

_-Welcome, we welcome you to our humble home at Station S-6-S._

_While here, we would like to invite you to join in on our competition. You shall be rewarded with prizes beyond your most wonderful-est dreams upon victory. Of course, if you would rather not participate, than a exit shall be provided to you. All we ask is for you to provide feedback on our wonderful station in return.  
_

_Thank you, and please enjoy your stay._

* * *

"What...?"

**-SOULS-**

"You are quite the determined one, aren't you?"

Deep within the bowls of the station, a dark creature laid in wait. Its large, bulging black eyes watched every little crack of the station from a horde of misshapen and twisted monitors. The room it had settled itself into was large, filled to the brim with broken pieces of steel and metal. The only light source besides the monitors itself were the occasional spark from the oddly placed wires. The place had a pungent stench as well, one that reeked of death and decay.

Everything was a chaotic mess. Just how the Caretaker liked it.

"And here I was hoping that creature would have made it through..." it hissed, watching as a certain black portal closed.

It gazed into the monitor, watching as the individual who had emerged from the portal looked around confusingly. Perhaps the pathetic piece of meat didn't even know why it was there? Why the station had brought him there? It wouldn't surprise the Caretaker anymore.

It could feel it. The station...it was growing desperate.

It might ask some to come, to help it while promising something in return. But others? It simply took them. Using its vast influence to interact with things that didn't seem to make sense. Perhaps it would later disguise this as something else, but in the end it was all the same. All aiming for the same goal. The goal of freedom...of release. Of something, somewhere, saving it...

But truly, whatever the case it was, the Caretaker didn't care in the slightest. To the station, it might have been trying to do something different, but when it came to the Caretaker's plans? The station was merely just making things even easier for it.

The horrid creature let out a echoing laugh, something that bounced off the distorted room.

For so long, the station had been interfering with its fun...making things harder than they should. But if it was growing desperate...than things would be coming to an end soon. It was losing strength, losing hope. And when they were both gone...he would have everything he needed.

But, even so. The Caretaker could wait...

...it had plenty of entertainment arriving anyway.

* * *

Author Notes:

So, it begins. I am very excited about all of this, especially since its going to have me going against several other OCs from various other authors.

The main tourney isn't going to begin for a few more days, we'll have to wait until then for that. But, if you want to get in on this little competition, then make sure to PM Rapidfyrez as soon as you can! There isn't many slots left in the tourney! So you may want to check it out now!

Until then, reiview if you like! And I'll see the rest of you when Round #1 begins! See you then.


	2. The Brute of the Leaf

**Kuromaru Nekokage belongs to Kris-dragon. **

**Bleach belongs to Tite Kubo.**

**Naruto belongs to** **Masashi Kishimoto**.

**The Calling/Station S-6-S belongs to Rapidfyrez**

**Robert Nazo belongs to Myself, Darkdemon619**

* * *

**Chapter 1: The Brute of the Leaf.  
**

* * *

_Within the dark and empty void of space, there sat a single structure._

_A station._

_An ancient station, floating within a timeless void. A dark pit within the universe that never changed.  
_

_One that stood within the darkness, with no explanation or reason for its purpose or position. It was a massive structure. Large, advanced, and barren for all tense and purposes. With several halls flowing through the gigantic station, the mysterious construct of metal and steel appeared to be a monument to something. For it was just there, defying the emptiness that surrounded it so.  
_

_What that was however, no one knew. All they knew, was the station's name._

_Station S-6-S_

_But there was something that all who arrived in the station would come to know quite quickly. Be it human, beast, alien, or artificial, there was one constant thing that they would come to know while on board the massive station.  
_

_They were not alone, even for a moment. There was always something else, roaming the station.  
_

_Looking for a fight._

* * *

**Station S-6-S, Outer Ring:**

* * *

Doors, nothing but doors. For miles around, thats all Robert could see.

Several doors, all scattered around the massive hallway he had found himself in. The station's halls were huge, all running in a circular pattern. It was as if the halls did nothing but lead in one gigantic circle, like a ring or a large donuts. However, the massive hall was littered with dozens upon dozens of doors, all leading into another unknown location.

At first, the shinigami had hoped that one of these entrances could be a way out of the mysterious station he had been transported to. But upon opening one of them...

Robert's eye twitched.

"No."

* * *

**-SLAM-**

* * *

"No!"

* * *

**-SLAM-**

* * *

"N-"

* * *

**-FOOOSH!-**

* * *

Fire, that was all Robert could see as he opened the door.

"Shit!" he screamed, diving out of the way as the flames burned the frame that lined the doorway. The old and worn metal was no match for the intense flames, turning the rusted pieces of steel into a slaggy disgusting mess. Robert just barely avoided such a fate himself, but he was not too happy regardless.

For the last hour or two, this was what the third seat of the Tenth Division had been forced to deal with. Robert had been constantly checking rooms, looking desperately for a way out of the strange station he had been transported to. But despite everything, all Robert had found by that point was either empty rooms…or traps.

Deadly, deadly traps that could claim even the more careful of warriors if they were unprepared. Traps ranging from giant trash compactors, deadly rows of spikes, or just recently…flame throwers.

"Come on!" Robert snapped, his eye twitching as the metal door slowly melted onto the floor.

"You said a damn door would be 'provided' for me!" he shouted to the station around him, "I don't want to be here, and yet you're screwing with me like this!?"

Despite the claim that he would be presented with a door if he did not want to participate in the stations fighting tournament, Robert had found no such thing so far. All he had seen during his stay on the station was empty rooms, mismanaged corridors, and entire sections of the station that seemed to be falling apart. Hell, Robert himself even fell through the floor at one point due to how rusted the metal plating was.

The halls he was roaming were nearly unusable. In fact, he had sworn that some of them had even began to fall apart on themselves. Standing himself back up, the shinigami sighed. He wasn't sure how much longer he was going to last in a place like this.

"And I thought traveling through the Dangai was a pain in the ass." Robert muttered before continuing onward.

The Dangai, also known as the **Precipice World**, is the dimension between Soul Society and the Human World, separated from space and time. It manifests itself as a long dark tunnel with almost organic fluid-like material making up its structure. It is one of the many ways one could enter the Soul Society, but it was also one of the most dangerous routes due to the ever patrolling guardian called the **Kōtotsu**, also known as the 'Cleaner'.

The Cleaner was massive wall of spiritual matter, similar to the same material of the Dangai itself. But the Cleaner was much more than that. For if anyone was ever caught by the Cleaner, they were gone. Wiped out of existence. One mere touch, and anyone, no matter their power was gone in a flash. Pulled up and erased by the Cleaner. For in truth, it did its job exactly as advertised. It cleaned the halls of the dangai, scrubbing clean anything that got in its way.

But despite such a threat, Robert still saw one positive that the Dangai had that Station S-6-S did not.

Sure, the Dangai was a constant struggle to keep ahead of the 'Cleaner', something that had claimed the life of more than a few shinigami in the past. But at least then, you knew there was a light at the end of the tunnel. That after running for so long, you would escape the Dangai sooner or later.

But in this station? Robert had no idea where the light was, or when the tunnel was going to end.

Regardless of that however, Robert just grumbled to himself before moving onward. There had to be a way out of the station somehow. Even if he had to MAKE his own at some point, but Robert was certain that he was going to escape this strange place no matter what.

His grip tightened on his Zanpakuto, a determined expression forming, "This will not be my grave. I've seen much more preferable places than this!"

The Fourth Division at least had nice beds he could rest in while he died, that was one Robert could think of off the top of his head. Anywhere was better than this disgusting mess of a metal death trap, that was for sure.

Still, the shinigami couldn't let his guard down, even slightly. For he was quite certain that the station, this 'Station S-6-S' place had more to it than one could see at first glance. Even while looking at the rusted ground, Robert could feel something. A darkness, a presence in the station. It reminded him of a hollow's spiritual pressure, but it was more than that too.

Whatever it was, the feeling was much darker. Almost like death itself was reaching out to Robert and-

A shiver ran through the shinigami's spine, "I need to stop hanging around the Eleventh division..."

Hanging around the Kenpachi division could easily mess with someone's head, especially when their Captain's power was constantly leaking everywhere. A power that could make some shinigami tremble in its mere presence. Such a killing intent, such a savage nature. It was almost as if the division was commanded by a monster, a personification of death itself.

Quite fitting for a shinigami after all.

Continuing on his way, Robert let out a sigh when he reached a large wall at the end of the hallway. Steel in form, the door blocked off the entire hallway, with only a single door for someone to progress with. It was the third one he had encountered by that point, earning the assumption that the massive corridors had been divided up into multiple corridors. After all, the door in front of Robert did say 'Section 8' on it.

"Perfect." Robert groaned, "More halls and more deathtraps, my favorite."

With his hand clamped onto his Zanpakuto's hilt, Robert took a deep breath and approached the door. The metal gate was similar to the previous ones he had encountered, but the frame also had a large 'Do Not Obstruct' warning on it and was far more reinforced as well. Such a thing didn't matter to Robert however, so it didn't even slow him down as he made his way through the metal door.

This ended up with him in yet another portion of the outer section of the station, one that looked quite similar to the last three sections Robert had explored. But unlike the last three, Robert was not completely alone this time around. In fact, the shinigami quickly saw something flying toward him at a vast speed.

"What in the..." Robert squinted his eyes, trying to see the approaching object more clearly. But when he actually saw what was truly coming toward him, Robert did the only sane thing imaginable.

He vanished in a burst of speed while screaming, "The HELL!?"

This proved to be the right chose however. For just seconds after the shinigami vanished, a massive metal body came flying through the air and smashed into the metal dividing wall. It looked to be some sort of Golem, made of scrap metal and various deadly pieces of equipment. Guns, blades, and even bladed chains were swirling around the metal monster's frame.

Robert reappeared just a few feet away from the metal body, looking back in shock at the construct that had nearly crushed him like a pancake. Not only was the Golem huge, but it was quite damaged as well. It was missing an arm, a leg, and the Golem's body was covered in what appeared to be indents...

...indents that were shaped like a human fist.

The Third Seat blinked slightly at the massive construct before looking back down the path where it had originated. What could have done such damage to the massive creature, especially with their fists alone?

This question was soon answered however. For as the massive Golem shuddered and fell behind him, Robert heard the sound of footsteps echoing in the distance.

Walking in the same direction as the Golem had been thrown was a man. A very tall and incredibly muscled man. His skin was dark, his head was shaved except for a goatee, and he had purple eyes that had a feline quality to them along with dark markings underling his eyelids. The man's body was also covered in a strange set of clothes. These included a ragged, sleeveless, leather jacket, baggy pants and shinobi boots. His torso also had bandages wrapped around it while a forehead protector was tied around his left arm along with spiky bracelets attached to his wrists as well.

Even just by looking at him, Robert could feel a power radiating off this man. A lethal intent, one that was demonstrated further as the man approached. For he didn't look serious or murderous, he simply looked bored. He was even cracking his knuckles like what he had just done was nothing more than a simple task like taking out the trash.

"Oi!" the man called out, snapping Robert out of his shock, "Who are you?"

However, that just shocked Robert even more. The man tosses a giant Golem made of metal at him and now he was asking for his name?

"Did...did you throw that thing at me?" Robert asked, still a bit dumbfounded at the entire situation.

The man raised a brow at the question before looking past Robert, spotting the metallic Golem without that much shock. After all, he had seen and experienced much stranger things in his life time. In fact, a giant scrap pile that was that could barely even throw a decent punch? That just earned a dry chuckle from the man.

"Oh, yeah." he nodded, not even batting the eyelash at the gigantic mech, "That thing? Tried to step on me. Broke its foot while tripping, I was merely...lending it a hand."

Robert's eye twitched, "By throwing it at me!?"

The man shrugged, eventually coming to a halt just a bit farther down the hall, "It wasn't really you, as it was the door behind you. Damn things have been quite pain in my ass so far, so I decided to get that one out of the way quickly."

"But," the man said before Robert had a chance to reply, "That isn't what has my attention. Instead, I got a question for you kid."

_'Kid?'_

Robert was more than a hundred years old! He was not a kid! Although, the shinigami now had a vantage point from where his Captain always got irritated whenever his fellow Captains made comment due the Captain's child-like appearance.

"One, are you part of this...fighting competition, or whatever is going on around here?" the man asked, slightly remembering what the Cultist had told him before he splattered the man's head across the wall. He hadn't said that it was a true competition, but that was the best way the man could describe it. And in truth, it sounded the most pleasing to the man. For if he was in a competition, then the fights would get even better further down the road.

"And two..." the man smirked, cracking his knuckles just one more time, "Are you strong?"

Robert blinked confusingly at the questions. The paper he had found upon arriving at the station did mention a competition but it was one that the shinigami wanted no part of. He wanted to LEAVE the station, not stick around so he could fight some random people that he didn't even know.

Still, the shinigami shook his head furiously, "No! I'm not! All I want to do is leave this damn place!"

The strange man looked at the Third seat with a bit of disappointment in his eyes. Nut before he could even reply, a loud siren echoing throughout the chamber. This caught the two individuals by surprise (more so Robert however, as the other man looked just mildly annoyed by the loud siren) and caused them to look around the hall with confusion.

As they did so however, the duo noticed all the exits suddenly seal themselves. The same doorways that Robert had been searching though previously were sealed shut, nothing short of a truck load of C4 being needed in order to pry the doors open again. Along with these however, a large computerized display also appeared along the walls of the hall, materializing two names that flowed across the surface like a scoreboard.

* * *

_**Robert Nazo Vs. Kuromaru Nekokage**_

_**Third Seat of the Tenth Division Vs. The Brute of the Leaf.**_

_**Begin.**_

* * *

"What?!" Robert shouted, deeply confused, "But...I'm not..."

The shinigami had NOT agreed to anything! Not a competition, not a fighting tournament, not anything! And whats worse, he hadn't even told anyone on the mysterious station his name or his job title. How did they know it? How had they learned it? And why and the hell was he matched up to fight this guy? None of this made sense to Robert even in the slightest!

The newly identified ninja, or shinobi as he might prefer had a different reaction, he merely smiled at the development.

He didn't give a shit in the slightest about Robert's problem. For the last hour or so, he had been searching for someone to fight and yet all he had found were damn traps everywhere. Weak traps too! They were just irritating to the shinobi, so he payed no attention to them for the most part. But now that hes found someone who might be a part of this strange competition? Well...

"So?" Kuromaru's voice snapped Robert's attention back to him, "Seems this place thinks you are a part of this whole bullshit mess..."

The shinigami quickly snapped his head back in the shinobi's direction but was shocked to see that he was gone. Completely, there wasn't even a trace of the man's body from where he had been standing.

"...which means, I'll be able to answer that second question myself."

Hearing Kuromaru's voice suddenly appear BEHIND himself, Robert grabbed his Zanpakuto's hilt in a flash and turned around. But the moment he did, the shinigami felt a sudden pressure explode against his body. It was so powerful that it quickly sent the shinigami flying backwards more than a few yards while all the air was forcefully knocked out of his lungs.

Upon crashing back into the ground, Robert looked up shakingly and felt his eyes widened. He would have thought that a cannonball or something had hit him but in truth, all he saw was Kuromaru standing there with his fist extended.

_'He...punched me!?'_

With nothing else holding him back, Kuromaru launched himself at the shinigami. Despite his size and build, Robert was shocked to see just how fast the man. He easily crossed the distance between the two like it was nothing. In fact, he was grinning while he was doing it!

"Wait!" Robert tried to shout, "Hold on a damn min-

* * *

**-CRACK!-**

* * *

It was only Robert's quick reflexes that saved him from getting punched even further into the ground however. Just as the massive shinobi was about to pound the living daylights out of the shinigami, Robert managed to push himself off the ground and out to the side. This just left Kuromaru to punch the ground where he has been...and create quite a hole in the process too.

Still, that didn't stop the massive shinobi. Even after nearly collapsing the floor around them with his fist, Kuromaru was up and at it again, charging right at Robert. The third seat was no fool though, he was not going to let the shinobi get a second shot in that easily. So using his speed, Robert did his best to stay at least a few feet away from his foe. But such a thing sounded far easier on paper than it actually was.

"Stop running!" Kuromaru shouted, chasing after Robert like a cat against a mouse.

The shinigami glanced at his foe and shook his head, "Not a chance!"

Kuromaru was fast. Not as fast as he was strong (which was a lot), but he was fast. He was able to keep up with Robert, even as he vanished from sight for a brief moment. This caused a wild chase to commence in the walled off section of the station. Robert constantly shot himself through the hall, trying to escape his pursuer. But Kuromaru was not easy to shake. The man followed the shinigami every step of the way, trying to nail the speeding blur each time.

This caused massive damage to the already broken hall, with the walls, ceiling, and floor getting even MORE holes blown in them by the man's fists alone.

Eventually though, Robert did come to a stop. After rebounding off the floor and shooting himself into the air, the shinigami stopped himself by creating a small platform under his feet with the spiritual energy in the air.

_'I need to stop this guy for a moment!' _Robert muttered in his mind just as Kuromaru turned the floor below him into a crater.

So, the Third Seat focused a bit of spiritual energy into his hand. This took the form of a long purple rod, about as long as the shinigami's arm. Then, just as Kuromaru looked up at the shinigami, Robert threw the strange construct at blinding speed.

_"**Bakudō #62. Hyapporankan (Hundred Steps Fence)!**_" Robert yelled.

The shinobi looked up at this strange display in both annoyance and confusion, "A Jutsu?"

However, just as Robert declared the name of his kidou spell, the rod sudden multiplied. Instead of being one, the rod became ten, then twenty, then thirty. The rods continued to multiply until there were at least a hundred of them, and they all pelted Kuromaru like a rainstorm. But instead of exploding, hurting him, or doing anything violent against the shinobi, they simply...stuck to him.

Looking at him, Kuromaru looked up at his foe with an annoyed glare, "What a bunch of bul-"

Upon attempting to take a step forward however, Kuromaru came to a sudden stop. He couldn't move, or at least he couldn't move his legs. Looking downward at his feet, the shinobi noticed that several of the rods had actually bolted his legs to the ground. It was like the rods were nails and his legs were boards of wood.

"Got you!"

Shooting downward like a bullet, Robert grabbed both the hilt and sheath of his sword. As he descended through the air, the shinigami gathered as much energy he could in his sword before unsheathing his blade. Then, with just a second passing, Robert began to slice his sword through the air like it wasn't even there. His movements were almost impossible to follow, like the wind blowing through the air.

* * *

**"Judgement Cut!"**

* * *

A rainstorm of blades suddenly sprang to life, descending upon the helpless shinobi, each blade mirroring a cut Robert had made with his Zanpakuto. And with his legs stuck to the ground for the moment, Kuromaru was seemingly forced to just take it all in. This resulted in more than a dozen explosions hitting the man, with nothing but his arms to protect himself.

The seemingly devastating assault on the shinobi coming to an end, Robert landed back on solid ground just a few feet away from his foe. After a punishing attack like that, Robert would have guessed that Kuromaru was down for the count.

Oh, how wrong he was.

* * *

**-CRACK!-**

* * *

Just a second or two after his feet hit the ground, Robert found all the air in his lungs being forcefully extracted once again. The cause this time however? Kuromaru's foot. His leg had shot upward and shoved itself deep within the shinigami's stomach within the blink of an eye. But the most shocking part of this?

_'He...he broke the Kidou...'_ Robert muttered as he was sent flying into the ceiling, the sheer power from that kick even punching through the ceiling! Metal plates or not, he went straight through like it was nothing.

On the ground though, Kuromaru simply shook the remains of the kidou off his legs before casually cracking his neck. The shinigami's assault was irritating and even cut pretty deep in a few places, but it hadn't mattered all that much to the shinobi. He had dealt with stronger bindings than that in the past. At the most, it could have only kept him down for a few seconds, ten at the most.

"Okay, enough with the bullshiting around." he called up to the ceiling, testing to see if Robert was even still alive up there, "Get your ass down here and show me some real fun."

The boy had been impressive so far, but speed and flashy Jutsu can only entertain Kuromaru for so long. If the kid didn't pick up the pace sooner rather than later, then the Brute of the Leaf was going to get bored. And for Robert's sake, that wasn't a good thing at all. He had broken more than a few of his fellow shinobi when when he got bored, and the ones who weren't his allies?

Well...the less talked about that, the better.

"FINE!"

Still, Kuromaru's fun wasn't over yet. For just seconds after he called up to his foe, Robert came exploding out of the hole the shinobi had made (using Robert's body). His expression was furious and the Shinigami was shooting toward his counterpart with his fist cocked back like a pistol's hammer. Kuromaru just laughed at this and prepared his own fist, his knuckles cracking slightly in anticipation.

When they clashed however, Robert's fist slammed into Kuromaru's with a explosive shock wave lashing out in the aftermath. They held this position for a few seconds, with one grinning like a devil while the other had a furious scowl etched across his face.

The moment they broke apart, Robert shot back into it, fists flying. The two opponents instantly were drawn into a thunderous fist fight with Robert on the complete offensive while Kuromaru met each of his blows in turn. They traded fists, kicks, and even a few head butts for several minutes. But despite everything, they seemed evenly matched for a time.

If Robert decked Kuromaru in the face, the shinobi returned the motion by shoving his leg into Robert's ribs. If Kuromaru cracked his fist against Robert's chin, then Robert uppercutted with his fist being driven into the man's stomach. And if their blows ever matched one another? Well, they would just continue at it. Again, again, and again.

But as the battle progressed, Robert made a startling discovery. While he was getting the utter hell beaten out of him, Kuromaru was fine.

Oh sure, the shinobi still had the obvious showing of being neck deep in a heated brawl. He had a bit of blood running down his mouth and a few bruises around this body, but besides that? The man wasn't reacting to Robert's attacks at all! Kuromaru was even grinning! The same grin he had from when their fist fight had started! Robert was trained quite highly in **Hakuda**, but he was barely making even a dent in the man. In fact, it felt like Robert was punching steel most of the time.

_'I need...'_ Robert struggled to think, _'I need to catch him off guard, I need to hit him harder!'_

But despite his efforts, Robert found his attempts futile. In fact, Kuromaru was barely even blocking his attacks at that point. He was just taking it all in while giving Robert the beating of his life time. It was insane. Robert could have sworn that he felt his jaw snap when one of Kuromaru's fists cracked against his chin. Despite how much he didn't want to admit it, Robert had to face facts. If things kept going at the rate they were...

...he was going to lose, badly._  
_

He needed to make a impact, a large one. If he was going to have any chance of walking away from this fight, it had to be.

And such a opportunity came when one of Kuromaru's punches went a bit wide. The man was getting a bit too cocky (or blood thirsty, Robert wasn't sure) and thus, he was getting sloppy. Just the thing Robert was looking for.

So, when the punch flew by Robert's head instead of cracking against his cheek, the shinigami focused all of his strength into his right arm and shot forward. The veins on his arm bulged, his knuckles turned white, and while he missed all of his vital spots...

* * *

_**"Ikkotsu (Single Bone)!"**_

* * *

Robert did manage to send a thunderous strike into Kuromaru's arm, his shoulder to be exact.

The result was instant. A loud, cracking sound echoed through the hall with all other sounds growing dim.

Kuromaru finally stopped grinning and actually staggered back from Robert's blow. The shinigami himself just stood there, his arm still extended and his heart beating a hundred times a minute. His attack had taken a lot out of him, but Robert could see the results of his efforts.

The shinobi's arm was limp, with his shoulder looking quite red. Even if Robert was dealing with a weakened version of his technique and a man who was hard as hell to hurt, it appeared that he had successfully dislocated the man's arm, if not broken it.

"Well..." Kuromaru muttered, looking at his disabled limb, "That...was a hell of a punch kid."

_'Thats it!?'_ Robert thought,_ 'Thats all you're going to say!? Your arm is basically off!'_

This shock didn't last though, as a new and even more unbelievable shock soon filled Robert. As he was mentally gaping at the strange shinobi, Kuromaru reached over with his good arm and grabbed his ruined shoulder. Robert thought he was merely seeing how damaged it was but what he did next...completely shattered those thoughts.

* * *

_**-CRACK!-**_

* * *

By just squeezing his shoulder, a echoing crack filled the hall again. It was similar in nature to when Robert had disabled the arm, but the results were completely reversed this time around. The bruise was completely gone and Kuromaru's arm began moving again, as if Robert's attack had done nothing at all.

"You..." Robert's voice stuttered, "...you reset..."

The Brute of the Leaf smirked, "No big deal. But the fact that you actually did that was quite something."

Robert had no time to react, no time to dodge or to block. But in the blink of an eye, Kuromaru ran up to the shinigami and planted his fist straight into Robert's face.

With one strong push, Robert was sent flying far back into the hall, right down the same direction where Kuromaru had entered. The shinigami crashed, smashed, and was thrown around like a rag doll before his body finally came to a stop. His nose felt broken and he could taste the blood in his mouth, but the worst part of it all? It was just how pathetic it all seemed.

"Don't tell me you're done already?" Kuromaru's voice called out, making Robert slowly struggle to get back to his feet.

A small dribble of blood dripped out of his mouth, "I'm...just, getting started."

"Well, good." Robert slowly drew his sword, the echoing of the shinobi's sandals echoing through the chamber. The tall, imposing Shinobi let out a loud chuckle and slowly walked over toward the same door Robert had entered through, stopping just a few feet in front of the same Golem he had 'dealt with' earlier.

"Well, thats good. Very good actually."he smiled, the Nekokage grabbing the Golem with one his hands before turning around, "Because I'm done yet, either"

All it took was a flick of his wrist but Robert felt his jaw nearly drop when Kuromaru actually threw the entire Golem at him. There was no strain when he did it either. The entire action was as simple as swatting a bug out of the air. And like a bug, it flew. The gigantic Golem flew through the air like it was weightless, and aimed to crash right into Robert.

At this instant, if there was one thing that Robert could compare this man to, it was a Kenpachi. He had all the signs. A love for battle, strong as hell, and could take a great deal of punishment. No matter what he had done by that point, noting was effecting the man in front of him. But in truth, there was one thing he knew that kept Robert from really considering the Kage as in the same department as a Kenpachi.

_'There is only one Kenpachi at one time...'_ he thought, drawing his sword as the metal Golem grew ever closer,_ 'And you are NOT a Kenpachi!'_

So, taking a deep breath, Robert looked toward the looming Golem with a determined gaze and drew his hand across his Zanpaukto...

* * *

_**"Descend into Darkness, Rise from the Abyss."**_

* * *

His sword, changed from that point forward. The long katana was gone, replaced by a large sword, a Claymore. It processed a red aura around its edge, just swirling around like a mist.

As the massive Golem finally neared the Shinigami's position. Just as it was about to crash onto him with a explosive and painful crash, Robert let out a long sigh. He grabbed his newly transformed sword with both of his hand and pulled it behind his back. With that, aura surrounding the blade grew even greater, transforming from a mere aura into a thick coat of spiritual energy. It glowed as red as fire, and moved around just the same.

And right as he was about to be crushed underneath several tons of metal, Robert let out a furious scream before unleashing his blade.

* * *

_** "Suchīru no Kage(****Steel's Shadow)!"**_

* * *

It was a clean cut.

With one swing of his sword, Robert cut the massive mechanical Brute in two, leaving two halves of one deadly mecha to crash on either side of him.

This was not the end of it though. Even as the two pieces of the Golem fell to the ground, Robert felt his eyes widen when he saw Kuromaru. He had followed the trail of spare parts that had fallen off the Golem, hiding behind the giant machine while the shinigami had dealt with it. But once the giant machine had been split in half, he struck with a powerful punch.

Such a strike nearly knocked Robert to ground once again. But somehow, the shinigami manged to stand tall with feet planted on the floor beneath him. His Zanpakuto was still in his grasp and he was seeing stares but Robert refused to fall.

"You are one tough bastard, you know that?" Kuromaru smirked, "Most pricks have their heads pop by now."

Staggering back and forth like his legs were jelly, Robert let out a painful chuckle, "Well...I've always been told that I've had a thick head..."

"Although...its always been the ladies...that say that."

The Brute of the Leaf let out a good long laugh at that, something Robert took a second to notice as he approached. During nearly the entire fight so far, the Shinobi had seemed almost completely calm in some way or form. Kuromaru seemed gleeful as they fought hand to hand, he never got furious or upset, and he was even strolling like he was on a Sunday walk. It was like he didn't think Robert was a real threat, or he didn't anything was. Hell, he might not take fights that seriously as long as he enjoyed them.

_'Thats another...mark toward being a Kenpachi.'_ Robert noted. While doing so however, an idea came to him. An idea that just might work...just maybe.

"Hey," Robert called out to his foe, still trying to catch his breath, "Mind...if I ask you a question?"

Stopping still a bit of a distance away from the shinigami, Kuromaru let out an annoyed huff. He hated when the people he fought tried to stall him with talking. Useless and irritating jabbering in an attempt to postpone their grim demise.

"What?" he growled, cracking his knuckles once again in anticipation for ripping his head off.

With his heartbeat no longer feeling like it was a bongo drum, Robert gulped, "Besides that...strange scoreboard-thing, why are you trying to kill me?"

Kuromaru raised a brow at that, "Simple, some jackass told me that the only way for me to get out of this damn place was if I fought. So if I beat the hell out of everyone in this god forsaken place, I can leave. Simple as that."

The Third Seat blinked slightly at that, "Really? I...I got a piece of paper that told me that if I didn't want to fight, I was free to go." he wheezed, "I guess this place is a bit picky when it comes to the people it pulls from out of nowhere."

The station had given the two warriors a different response when it came to how to escape the station. Kuromaru was promised a way out if he won while Robert was simply told that an exit would be provided to him if he wanted to leave. And the fact that Kuromaru was actually told by a person while Robert had to read it from a note did not escape the shinigami either.

"Well, that sucks for you kid." Kuromaru gave Robert a pitiful look, "But, don't think a shitty excuse like that is going to keep me from beating the hell out of you."

"Ah, well..." Robert muttered with a worn smirk, "That blows...but what about this?"

Lifting one of his worn arms, Robert materialized a familiar looking rod of spiritual energy. Kuromaru raised a brow when Robert let the attack fly once again. He even shook his head when his foe called out the attack's name again.

_"**Bakudō #62. Hyapporankan (Hundred Steps Fence)!**_"

Kuromaru let out an annoyed sigh as the kidou once again started to pelt his body. After all, he had already seen this technique before and it failed to work last time as well. If Robert really wanted to keep him in place, he should have used something stronger like a Earth Release or something. But be that as it may, Kuromaru was certain that after a few seconds, he's break the kidou like glass and then shove his foot up his foe's-

A split second later, those thoughts vanished from Kuromaru's mind.

In the time between throwing the Kidou and hearing his opponent sigh, Robert somehow had eliminated the distance between himself and the shinobi. For before Kuromaru even had the chance to blink, Robert was in front of him with his sword in hand. The man was just a foot or two away from Kuromaru's face and just out of arms length.

Robert had his sword in both hands with the same fiery aura burning throughout his blade. His expression was cold, furious, and there was even a yellow tint flashing in his eyes.

It took Kuromaru only a second to realize what had happened. The boy, this...whatever he was had used Kuromaru's calmness against him. He had been unprepared for such a quick response and with the weakened Kidou as a front, Robert had placed his foe in a dire situation.

The shinobi quickly tried to break free from the Kidou, but with only a very few seconds having past, he was unable to. The Kidou cracked for sure, but it remained just strong enough to keep Kuromaru there for just a few more seconds...

...and just long enough for Robert to bring his Zanpakuto forth, unleashing all the pent up power that had been drawn forth since he sliced the Golem in half.

* * *

_**"Suchīru no Raito**_**_(Steel's Light)!"_**

* * *

From the tip of his sword to the top of his hilt, a massive and destructive wave of energy was unleashed from Robert's Zanpakuto. It arced in a destructive flash, taking up nearly the entire hall with its grand power. The blast was even red like the sun, burning through everything it touched as it shot backwards down the chamber's length. And at the front of it was Kuromaru, taking the full forced of the attack with no way of defending himself. **  
**

Such a powerful and devastating attack ravaged the hall, tearing a large scar into both the hall's ceiling and floor. The heat from the attack also burned against the metal plating that made up the room, turning nearly all of the formerly white chamber into a dark, crispy black.

The attack wasn't unending through. It did eventually come to a halt, but that was only after it had torn the dividing wall in half and traveled through nearly half of the previous section of the Outer Ring.

"Holy crap..." Robert muttered, dropping his sword to the ground slightly, "...I forgot how devastating that can be..."

Throughout the entire hall, the lock-down that had activated previous began to release. All the doors that had sealed themselves opened again and the massive bulkheads around the (now destroyed) dividing wall unlocked themselves as well.

However, one of the doors had changed during this process. Even though it was the same types of doors that Robert had been searching through previously, it now glowed green throughout its frame and a large display blinked to life above the door. It was similar to the 'scoreboards' from earlier but instead of displaying names, this one only had but one word to show Robert.

* * *

**'EXIT'**

* * *

"Huh..." Robert muttered, sheathing his sword while turning his attention toward the door. None of the previous doors had tried to fool him like that, and was it a coincidence that the door had only appeared AFTER he had defeated the man the station pitted him against?

"Maybe I'm finally making some progress here." he mumbled hopefully.

With his foe defeated for the moment and a possible exit within sight, Robert steeled himself and began to make his way toward the glowing exit. After having walked around the Outer Ring for more than a hour or so, Robert was just glad that he might be finally close to a way ou-

* * *

**"OI!"**

* * *

A chill shot up Robert's spine, his feet stopping dead in his tracks. There was no way, no way in hell. That voice couldn't be who he thought it was.

But despite a voice screaming in his head to NOT look back, Robert slowly turned around and gazed back down the hall.

"Oh...you've got to be kidding me..."

Through the destruction he had caused, past the ruined door that Robert had used earlier was where his attack had ended. But right at the edge of the destruction, where Robert's attack finally dispersed...was Kuromaru. He stood among the destruction, standing tall with barely even a twitch concerning all the trauma he had been through. There was a large bleeding scar going down his chest but other than that?

Kuromaru was otherwise fine.

"Well, damn!" the Shinobi called out, his voice echoing throughout the halls of the station, "Now THAT was a show!"

Robert watched in shock as the massive man slowly brushed himself off. He was even ignoring the giant wound on his chest, not even acknowledging the blood that was leaking out of his torso. It was like nothing was there, and such a reaction was why Robert was gaping at the imposing man. He had just taken a full force of his shikai's strongest attack and was still standing!

"Seems I was wrong about you kid..." the Brute laughed as he strolled forward, "You might be fun after all..."

Now, with a Captain like Zaraki Kenpachi in the Gotei 13, Robert had seen the face that Kuromaru was giving him many times before. It wasn't a happy or sad, or even angry one. It was the face of a man who was gleeful at the aspect of fighting. So much so that he cared for little else at that moment.

But with the exit just feet away, Robert made possibly one of the smartest choices he could have at that very moment. He could have stood and fought to the end. Fighting until his bones broke, his eyes bled, and his sword broke. The shinigami could have went right back into the fight against this titan of a man, who seemed far too much like a shinigami than he should of. But instead?

He ran like the devil was on his tail.

It took the shinobi just a moment or two to realize what was going on, but when he did?

"HEY!" Kuromaru yelled, watching his foe run run away like a coward. He found someone who could actually be some fun, but now he was running away for some stupid reason!? There was no way in the nine rings of hell that he was going to let that happen! Not after things had just started to get exciting!

"Don't you dare, you fuc-!"

Despite his efforts, Robert quickly managed to slip through the exit door before Kuromaru had a chance to follow after him. And with the door slamming shut just seconds after the shinigami escaped into it, the Brute of the Leaf had no possible way of following at the moment. The door was hard as a mountain and it would take time for even him to break through it. However, its not like Robert cared about that at all. He was just happy with the fact that he was free of that man for the time...

But, there was one thing that the shinigami muttered once he reached safety inside a small empty corridor.

"God...I hate this place..."

* * *

Author comments:

* * *

Shit! That was hard to do!

-I'll admit, **Kris-dragon. **You've got one hell of a monster up you're sleeves. Those comments regarding comparing him to a Kenpachi was NOT a exaggeration after I red both his Audion and Stats page. And damn, it was really dificult for me to think of a way to end this one that did justice to both characters.**  
**

-I think I did his personality right. He isn't a monster per-say (even if a lot of people see him like that) but he likes to enjoy a fight and since the only way to escape the station is to fight...well, hes going to enjoy it. And about the wounds, I think he came out of it okay since Robert nearly collapsed on to his ass more than once.

-Still, its not my decision who wins this. Its you guys an the Judges! So, lets see how they think I did in the first round!

I hope you all enjoyed this one and I can't wait to see what comes next!


End file.
